Hmm, well I don't know about trends or anything but the Xbox One reveal definitely made me more enthusiastic for the Wii U. I was planning to pick one up regardless once some more Nintendo titles dropped but I found the news about the Xbone so uninspiring that I just said to heck with it and picked the Wii U up early.

I've been really liking it so far. New Super Mario Bros U. is delightful

Where's the KABOOM?! There was supposed to be an earth-shattering KABOOM! sigh delays...delays...

Spin suggests they intended to make this story about it. I'm fairly sure that most sites reporting this weren't aware that there was a sale. Same is probably true for the vast majority of positive posts in this thread.

It probably made headlines more for the interesting timing than the winning hits from the fanboys. Remember that bad news sells, this wouldn't have been as big a thing as it was if it didn't include a chance to laugh at the XBone

I reckon most sites were well aware of the sale, some may have purposefully omitted that detail to make the story more interesting.

I agree, if not for the timing, this wouldn't be such a big story. On the face of things, "Xbone announced, WiiU sales up 800%", it's funny. I laughed quite heartedly at the headline when I first saw it.

If there was no sale I'm betting the WiiU sales wouldn't have increased at all post-Xbone announcement.
That's the point I'm trying to get across.
Likewise, if the sale was a week before the Xbone announcement the sales would have been similar.

I would take you up on that bet any day. You would make me a rich man. If you believe Wii U sales weren't influenced in any way by the Xbone reveal, you, sir, are the "fanboy" term that you love to fling around these internets. But what about that sale? Yes, I agree - the sale was probably responsible for most of that spike in consumer interest, but what leads me to believe that the Xbone announcement had some impact was that previous sales of the Wii U system did not generate anywhere near this level of a jump. It is quite obvious that the reveal played some part in making up the minds of a good number of "on the fence" gamers. I, for one, know that I was intrigued by the next Xbox and wanted to see what Microsoft had to offer. I was seriously considering a purchase. But the Kinect requirement, 24-hour online check-in, and used game fee just feels a bit too Big Brother for me. You can have your cloud - I'll stick with the hard drive in my living room, thank you very much.

Use your head and think a little. It's not being a "fanboy" to celebrate an evening out of the market. Do you really want to be a gamer where your choice is only Microsoft (console AND PC because of Windows) or Sony... and that's it? I know I don't, and I sure believe that many others agree with me.

I would take you up on that bet any day. You would make me a rich man.I doubt you would get rich off a £5 wager.
If you believe Wii U sales weren't influenced in any way by the Xbone reveal, you, sir, are the "fanboy" term that you love to fling around these internets.A fanboy of what exactly?
But what about that sale? Yes, I agree - the sale was probably responsible for most of that spike in consumer interest, but what leads me to believe that the Xbone announcement had some impact was that previous sales of the Wii U system did not generate anywhere near this level of a jump.

[b]Now that's actually a good point.Previously sales haven't spiked sales 8fold.
However if I remember correctly, the last sale on the 32GB console was at HMV and it was limited to certain stores and wasn't available online. The increase was only by 125% that time.
I might be wrong on that. Maybe there's been other sales on the 32Gb since. I don't tend to follow the latest sales since I already own the console.[/b]

It is quite obvious that the reveal played some part in making up the minds of a good number of "on the fence" gamers. I, for one, know that I was intrigued by the next Xbox and wanted to see what Microsoft had to offer. I was seriously considering a purchase. But the Kinect requirement, 24-hour online check-in, and used game fee just feels a bit too Big Brother for me. You can have your cloud - I'll stick with the hard drive in my living room, thank you very much.

Use your head and think a little. It's not being a "fanboy" to celebrate an evening out of the market. Do you really want to be a gamer where your choice is only Microsoft (console AND PC because of Windows) or Sony... and that's it? I know I don't, and I sure believe that many others agree with me.When did I say I wanted to see only two console manufacturers? I didn't. Ever.

I honestly don't get why the word fanboy exists. It literally adds nothing to a discussion.

Neither do fanboys themselves

Well ya, but that was my point. Fanboys don't exist, because people actually have reasons why they like a said thing.
I personally like Nintendo, because they always have interesting hardware. Specs contribute to this as well.
I like Microsoft, because they make PC OSs, and have a different take on gaming consoles(when they actually focus on games).
I like Sony, because they make competitive TVs and audio equipment.

The only company's gaming machine I don't like is Sony's. I like the company, just not the gaming department of it.

So actually, I guess you could call me a fanboy, but I still like all the companies in one way or another. The only company I can't say I like at all, would be Apple.

Whether or not the Xbox reveal caused the Wii U's sales boost or not, It's nice to know people for one reason or another are buying the system. I keep reading on a lot of forums and article comments quite a few people do plan to get a Wii U once it starts to pick up steam. We all know good games will get a certain amount of people to buy the thing. Personally I don't think the other 2 machines will leap out of the blocks. Until the questions are resolved and the gams libraries are full, I expect a lot of fans to hold back from buying immediately, jus like they have with the Wii U. Some will of course, but only a modest percentage of the 100 million or so that own either/both the PS3 or/and 360. All the 3 new systems are competing with these 2 machines, with similar games being released on all 5. GTA5 won't be a next gen release- it'll be on the PS360. Arkham won't be on the PS4XB1.

With the rumours that the PS4 could be using similar DRM to Microsoft on used games, all fans have trouble knowing who to trust. It's nice to know that Nintendo is still the same old Nintendo. Nintendo IS an old fashioned company- it takes forever and a day to release its games. It comes up with barmy 2 screen, 3d, stick waving ideas instead of using next gen graphics. Its taken slowly to push its internet connectivity. It doesn't do 'mature' gameplay the way other pig slaughtering, finger chopping off, drug dealing central character games companies do. It aligns with similar 'kiddie' game makers. It markets its games in zany Japanese ways where the head of the company tries to tell very bad jokes in very broken English. A head of the company that made games first, and perhaps isn't the best as a money man. It continues to reinvent its archaic characters that it's fans have loved for 30 years. It insists it remains independent of all the big technology conglomerates Apple, Microsoft and Sony, and will only make its product for its machine. In so many ways it's a company that drives me crazy but at the same time I love because every fault it has is for a reason. Nintendo slowly but surely develops fantastic games for a universal audience. It holds its Japanese identity with pride, and is able to mock itself. It avoids the costs of graphical superiority and add on technical magic to cut cost. This allows it to avoid in game adverts, 2nd hand DRM, and charging for Internet passes. It remains it's own master so these other companies can't force it to sully it's IP. I believe Nintendo does care about creating wonderful games to make its audience happy, and doesn't want to disappoint its customers with shady business practises. Maybe I am a Nintendo fan boy, but I've been able to trust them since I was 8!

Strange to think all of these antiquated practises people hate may just turn out to be what fans turn to in the face of 'progress'.

Before any great reveal for a Nintendo game, must come an advert full of XB1 non gameplay cutscenes.

So a lot of people flamed me for belittling this 800% increase, but we've now had 2 charts since, with Nintendo land nowhere near either of them. A big deal has been made of Fuse hitting number 37, only selling 'a couple of hundred' copies. That means Wii U sold no more than a couple of hundred in either of the last two weeks. So it's probably just like I said, in that Wii U buyers switched to amazon when they became the cheapest, so amazon sales increased, but overall numbers did not.

So a lot of people flamed me for belittling this 800% increase, but we've now had 2 charts since, with Nintendo land nowhere neither either of them. A big deal has been made of Fuse hitting number 37, only selling 'a couple of hundred' copies. That means Wii U sold no more than a couple of hundred in either of the last two weeks. So it's probably just like I said, in that Wii U buyers switched to amazon when they became the cheapest, so amazon sales increased, but overall numbers did not.

The Wii U is at the top its game, I would think. The Xbox One lacks backwards compatibility, has a mandatory online system, and more flaws. The Wii U is a free console and lives up to its purpose of being a game console. Sales boost by 875%, wow. The Wii U is best the way I see it.

So a lot of people flamed me for belittling this 800% increase, but we've now had 2 charts since, with Nintendo land nowhere near either of them. A big deal has been made of Fuse hitting number 37, only selling 'a couple of hundred' copies. That means Wii U sold no more than a couple of hundred in either of the last two weeks. So it's probably just like I said, in that Wii U buyers switched to amazon when they became the cheapest, so amazon sales increased, but overall numbers did not.

So a lot of people flamed me for belittling this 800% increase, but we've now had 2 charts since, with Nintendo land nowhere near either of them. A big deal has been made of Fuse hitting number 37, only selling 'a couple of hundred' copies. That means Wii U sold no more than a couple of hundred in either of the last two weeks. So it's probably just like I said, in that Wii U buyers switched to amazon when they became the cheapest, so amazon sales increased, but overall numbers did not.

... here's your cookie? Who cares?

Xbox fanboys?

To blessed to be stressed.
80's music makes me feel fabulous.
What Would Duane Do?Rynoggery

So a lot of people flamed me for belittling this 800% increase, but we've now had 2 charts since, with Nintendo land nowhere near either of them. A big deal has been made of Fuse hitting number 37, only selling 'a couple of hundred' copies. That means Wii U sold no more than a couple of hundred in either of the last two weeks. So it's probably just like I said, in that Wii U buyers switched to amazon when they became the cheapest, so amazon sales increased, but overall numbers did not.

Where are you getting your numbers from? If your numbers are actually correct, then the report of Wii U sales was actually better than they were before.
If you did the math right, I wouldn't even be bringing this up.

Regardless, the Wii U still has the rest of summer and some time in fall, before it actually has to try and compete against Sony and Microsoft.

The Wii U is gonna have a bigger fan base than any other console by the end of the year. The graphics argument has no relevance. Unless everyone's Wii U explodes all at once, there's nothing that can possibly cause Nintendo to do badly this generation.